


What Was Lost (What will soon be Found)

by Vega_Tenala



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Anti-Faunus Racism (RWBY), Implied Physical Abuse, Mental Abuse, Multi, No enabler, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, forced/arranged marriage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:35:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22024192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vega_Tenala/pseuds/Vega_Tenala
Summary: They are all lost, strayed from the path. Each has given up a part of themselves in despair and their hope to the cruel winds of time. So when fate sends them hurtling toward crossing paths once more, they must all be ready for the war ahead, or perish like so many before them.Things have changed. After the Fall of Beacon, nothing went right. Instead, they went very, very wrong. Scattered across Remnant with their own goals, can Team RWBY get past what divides them and come together to stop Salem before it's too late?Note: Tags can and will be added as I go along. If you think a tag is missing let me know and I'll add it on (and I apologise in advance if I miss adding it in the first place).
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna/Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna/Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Weiss Schnee, Weiss Schnee/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 9
Kudos: 41





	What Was Lost (What will soon be Found)

**Author's Note:**

> These updates will be slow, as I intend to start trying to get both this and other (unfinished) works written. But this is also my first poly fic! so hopefully it'll all work out well enough :)
> 
> Note: Tags can and will be added as I go along. If you think a tag is missing let me know and I'll add it on (and I apologise in advance if I miss adding it in the first place).
> 
> Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy it, and if you spot a mistake, let me know which third and which character's paragraph it was in and I'll fix it ASAP :)

Weiss looked at her father as he stood staunch and unmoveable as he looked down on her with his eternally disapproving gaze, and she could only shrink under his look. He had never approved her of going to Beacon, and this solidified his will to prevent her from becoming a Huntress. She knew it had, she could see it in his frosty blue eyes, their hardness.

“Weiss, it’s time to come home.” He repeated as if she hadn’t heard him the first time. She knew that wasn’t what he was saying exactly. She learned his language early on. He was trying to seem like a father who had down no wrong. But she could hear his true meaning ring in her ear.  _ You will return home, and you won’t complain. _

“But father I-...” She glanced back at her Team with pained eyes. Ruby was out, laid next to an unconscious Yang with her missing arm and a pained Blake who clutched at her injured side. She turned her head back to meet his eyes again, begging him to let her just have this one thing. “Can I just...make sure they’re okay before we go, please?” 

His eyes drifted to the broken remains of RWBY, his lips turned downward. “You may have ten minutes to say your goodbyes.” 

He didn’t want to give her even that much if his annoyed tone was anything to go by. She figured he was only given her that much to try and avoid the fuss she could make otherwise, in front of so many affected by the battle. Always the diplomat.

“Thank you.” She gave him a grateful look before turning to head to her team one more time, knowing that her time was ticking by. She rushed over, but not too fast so that her father didn’t feel ‘embarrassed’ for whatever reason, though he was likely to make one up on the airship back just to keep her down.

She knelt by Blake first, as she was the only one awake. Blake was still clutching at her bandaged wound on her side. She gave Weiss a sad look, and Weiss could see her bow bend a bit as her ears tried to mirror her emotions. She placed a hand on Blake’s arm softly.

“Sorry, I… can’t remain longer.” She offered apologetically “Father...he-”

“It’s okay, Weiss. You don’t have a choice.” Blake winced as she moved her hand from the wound to cover Weiss’ own. She gave her the littlest smile, her attempt to make it look and feel encouraging falling flat. Weiss knew her fear was seeping through to her expression. Blake was always quick to pick up on the fear of her father. Blake always  _ knew _ . 

Weiss glanced over to the sisters, both asleep. Ruby was breathing, but it was shallow, and it was for the medical personnel to prioritise everyone, given how many casualties there appeared to have been. So many dead or injured, so many left to save. Exhaustion certainly wasn’t a top priority for them at the moment, and as much as Weiss would have wanted to argue the point, she didn’t have the time and the still functional rational part of her brain argued that there were those who needed the attention more. Ruby, on the other hand, would be okay. Well, maybe not  _ okay _ okay, but she would physically recover. She doubted any of them would recover mentally and emotional anytime soon. Especially not JNR. Definitely not JNR.

Yang wasn’t much better. She’d had to be sedated with how short the supply of painkillers was, and even with the sedation, it was likely that the drugs would wear off soon enough. She gave the sisters a soft, sad look before turning to Blake once again and, before the Faunus could object to it, she gave Blake a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Weiss wasn’t much for PDA, but it was now or never.

Blake froze as the lips left her head, and Weiss stood up to give Yang and Ruby the same treatment, each getting a soft kiss on the top of their heads. Kneeling down between them to give one right after the other as her time began to run out. She could feel the disapproving gaze that her father was giving her but right then, it didn’t matter. What mattered was making sure she didn’t let the chance pass her by. Who knew when they would see each other again after all? Knowing her father, she would have a hard time getting away from it all back in Atlas. And he was sure to punish her later for her public display of affection toward her teammates.

She stood up and took a step back, her back hitting against a warm wall. Surprised, she left out an eep as she turned around to find a blonde man looking at her with sad, soft azure eyes. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow before giving her a respectful nod. She tilted her head for a moment. He looked familiar. It took her a moment before it hit her.

“Oh...uh...Mr...Xiao Long I presume?” She winced a little. Not the best circumstances to meet your teammates farther under, not by a long shot.

“Please, call me Tai.” He held out his hand, which she promptly gripped with her own in a polite handshake. “You must be Weiss, my girls’ teammate.”

“I am Sir. I wish I could stay longer but-” Her father chose that point to interrupt the encounter. The worst timing, as always.

“Weiss. It’s time to go.” He commanded sternly.

She let her head drops as she replied to him, deciding that it wasn’t worth the grief she would get if she tried to fight him on this. “Yes, father, I’ll be right there.” She looked up to give Tai an apologetic look, he only nodded and gave her a quick oat on her left shoulder to her unvoiced apology.

“Go, I’ll look after the girls. I’ll let them know you said goodbye when they wake up.”

“Thank you, Mr-...Tai.” She nodded to him before looking down at Blake. “Be safe, Blake.”

She turned to walk back over to her father, only pausing when Blakes words reached her ear.

“Be safe Weiss.”

It had been hours since the Schnee airship had left the safe zone, and Blakes Aura had finally kicked into gear as she felt the wound slowly begin to heal. It still hurt, but nowhere near as much as it was earlier. And since Weiss had said goodbye, she hadn’t been able to think completely straight. Weiss who, like her, often refrained from showing affection to others. Even touching with the slightest hint of affection was something that the Schnee heiress tended to avoid. But going so far as to kiss each of them on the head? Blake had been caught off guard.

But it also worried her a little.

Did Weiss not think that they would ever see each other again? Is that why she decided to give them that sign? Blake frowned as she thought on it. It wasn’t as if the possibility was out of reason, given how Weiss reacted to her father upon his arrival, and during his presence there. It was like the night air got colder when he was around.

And knowing what he had allowed people to do, perhaps even told or ordered them, to Faunus who worked for him in his damned dust mines, to Faunus like Adam, it was no wonder the air had gotten colder. She understood a little more why Weiss so like she was with a man like that as a father. It didn’t condone the violence that people like Adam perpetuated, it made them just as bad as people like Jacques Schnee or anyone else who took advantage of her people.

She reached out to take Yang’s hand in her own.

The blonde was still sedated. She had woken up not long after Weiss’ departure but after the pain began to get the better of her it was decided that perhaps it would be better to keep her sedated for now left her emotion help draw more Grimm to the area. With Yang unconscious, it was hard not to see how bad the pain was. Even in her unconscious state, any movement of her arm drew a whimper of pain from her lips Blake couldn’t stand to see her like that. It was if she could physically feel how bad Yang was hurting.

She knew she couldn’t let this happen again. Yang may be one of the closest people to her, thanks to their time at Beacon, but she certainly wasn’t the only one who had been hurt by the White Fang and its members in this assault on their home. The White Fang was not what it used to be and she had to put an end to this. She could feel it in her soul. They were a danger to everyone on Remnant if they were allowed to continue. And she couldn’t let anyone else get hurt.

There was only one person who had enough sway with the Faunus to put an end to this, to return the Fang back to its peaceful ways. She had to  _ try _ . If not for her own sake, then for Yang’s sake, for everyone’s sakes.

She didn’t want to leave her but...

It was time to go  _ home _ .

By the time Yang woke up, and able to maintain coherency, she knew something was deeply, deeply wrong with the world around her. For a start, last she could remember Blake was in danger and she was rushing forward without a second thought to protect her from Adam. She had the vague recollection of him moving to turn toward her. After that, it was a hazy, pain-filled blur with the feeling that Blake may have carried her away somewhere.

She open opened her eyes with a start to find general darkness surrounding her, with faint punctuations of light around. She tried to push herself up with her right arm. She knew something more was wrong when not only was she not moving upward to sit, but she was very certain she should be. She looked to the side as she used her other arm instead. Her breath caught as she saw in the dim lighting why she hadn’t been able to get up. Most of her right arm was missing. And some of it came back to her.

Adam had swung his weapon, and somehow it had broken through her Aura without issue. He had taken her arm for trying to protect Blake…

Blake who had been injured herself yet still must have gotten them away.  _ Carried _ them away to safety while she had been unconscious and useless to both of them. She had failed to keep Blake safe. Speaking for Blake, where was she? Yang squinted as she looked around. She must have been in a medical transport of some kind. She saw her dad off to the side, steadfastly asleep. 

And where the hell was Ruby?! And Weiss? And  _ Blake _ ? Not knowing where the rest of her team were and if they were safe, or even  _ alive _ was freaking her out a little. Okay, maybe more than simply a  _ little _ , she was very much freaking out about her friends. Blake had been  _ hurt _ and probably saved her  _ life _ which really wasn’t a small thing, Yang’s weight a big part of that. She wasn’t lightweight by anyone’s standards. Though, she had underestimated Blake’s strength before. But Blake wasn’t  _ here _ and she couldn’t  _ see _ her. She frowned before whispering loudly, trying not to wake the others and at the same time trying to get Tai’s attention and wake him up.

“Dad...dad wake up.” He stirred a little, but still remained asleep as she sighed. “ _ Dad _ .”

“Huh...wha-?” He jolted awake and looked around before his eyes finally settled on Yang. He squinted his eyes for a moment. “Yang...you’re awake.” He sat up straight as his mind began to come out of its sleepy state. His eyes filled with concern as he found her worry-filled expression looking back at him, wanting answers.  _ Needing  _ answers.

“Where are…?” She trailed off quietly.

“Ruby is fine, just exhausted we think.” She left out a relieved breath. She didn’t know what she was going to have done if RUby had of been injured or worse, killed. He stood up and walked over quietly before placing a hand gently on her shoulder, attempting to be reassuring to her. He would never be as good as Summer had been at comforting, but he always put in the effort and for that Yang was grateful. “She’s in the bunk above Yang.”

“What about Blake and Weiss?” Her eyes watched him, scrutinising his reaction to her words. There was worry in her voice again, it was only natural.

“Weiss is fine. Her father though...a real piece of work. He took her back to Atlas. And Blake...she took off as soon as she was cleared to go I think. One moment she was talking to you while you slept and the next...she was gone.” His expression turned said, apologetic as he only barely met her eyes with his own. He didn’t want to deliver this news to her, but he knew that if she was going to get upset at him in this situation, he’d rather it be for telling her the truth than being caught in a lie, and what kind of father would hide the truth from his daughter?

The reaction from Yang, however, was immediate. She deflated as she heard how Blake had run off that first chance she had gotten. Yang had thought, after the trouble at the docks, that they had gotten past this. But clearly, at least with Blake, old habits die very hard. But this time, it was more than just about Blakes past that upset Yang. No, what upset her the most was, at a time when she was going to need Blake the most, she just left. No word, no chance to talk about it, nothing. Yang  _ knew _ that talking about Beacon might have helped them with their inevitable need to recover from the experience.

And now her team was shattered, beginning to scatter around Remnant. All she had left was Ruby, and there was no telling when Ruby would wake up if she was in that bad of a state. Which means she only had two people to talk to about what had happened but, none of them would understand it as much as Blake, Weiss and Ruby. Especially Blake. Maybe Team JNPR but she didn’t want to burden another team. Hell, she had no idea who of the other Teams were still alive, and she knew that students had died during the Fall. She had eyes, she had seen the bodies on the way to find Blake, she wasn’t naive. 

But as angry as Blake taking off without a word made her, she remembered the injury Blake had sustained from Adam. Right now, her anger and frustration and sheer  _ hurt _ were all overridden by her worry for Blake. Not just Blake of course. She was deeply worried for Weiss. Was Weiss alright? Had she been injured? If she had, how bad was it? What about JNPR? CVFY? SSSN? All their friends. She hoped that there were all okay, but with the pandemonium that had occurred that hope was in very short supply.

But she hoped anyway. That was all she could do.

***

Weiss looked out of the Airship window as the flew across the ocean, racing toward Atlas in the safety of their escort. They had barely avoided several flocks of Grimm already, no doubt heading toward Beacon and Vale, drawn by the negative emotions that had pulled them into the attack, to begin with. As much as she wanted to order their escort to take them out, her father had seen to it personally that she couldn’t do anything to alter their course and engage.

She watched as a Sea Feilong passed beneath them, cutting through the waves like Crescent Rose had done to many Grimm in their tine as a team. And the sight of the Grimm made her long once again for her Teammates to be there with her, to deal with the Feilong before it could hurt someone or go after one of the passenger boats that passed through these waters.

But her father didn’t care about other people. Only his image and his reputation and, in spite of the tragedy she knew that this trip to retrieve her from Beacon was a two-birds one-stone type of situation. He has personally gone to make sure that his daughter was alright and escort her home, but behind the scenes, it was clear that he was only wishing to forcibly prevent her from continuing her career choice in another academy like Shade in Vacuo or Haven in Mistral. Both had a liberal amount of Faunus attending, last she had checked. Something her father would greatly disapprove of. It was a hard enough fight to get into Beacon, the toughest of the four Huntsman academies and the most esteemed, against her father. Shade or Haven would have most certainly been impossible to get into with his standards. 

“Weiss, you’re sulking.” Jacques looked at her with a disapproving gaze. “Come on now, it was never going to last, and being heiress to the company well, I highly doubt that the two professions are compatible. Are they? Besides, at home you’ll be safe from those Faunus degenerates that probably caused this entire mess.”

Weiss huffed in annoyance. He really  _ didn’t _ care. And she had an inkling many of the White Fang had been slighted by her father and the SDC, and certainly more than once. She really couldn’t blame them for wanting to take it out on the mines and the company, but taking their mistreatment this far? Either way, Beacon would bear the wounds of this attack for a long time to come, so would Vale in general, and all those who had been present.

But of course, she couldn’t say that her Fathers face, so she settled for giving him a random short response to his words instead. She would just have to spend some time in the training room, pretending that one of the dummies was his face or other parts that would cause him immense pain if done on the real thing. Something she had been wanting to do ever since she started getting over the lies and half-truths he had filled her head with to keep her leashed. What sort of a man did that to his own  _ child _ ? And not just her, he was doing it to Whitley to and she recalled him doing it to Winter, back when she was still at home. She was glad Winter had gotten out of their so-called family the first chance she got. It was why Weiss chose Beacon after all.

“Weiss, are you even listening to me?” He asked suddenly. She jolted a little at the unexpected question. Truth be told, she didn’t think he had noticed that she was, in fact, not listening to him at all. Nor did she expect that he even  _ cared _ enough to pay attention to her at all. She reasoned that perhaps she shouldn’t be entirely surprised. He always did want to make sure that she was paying attention to his grand plan for her life that had been planned long before she was old enough to have a formal education. 

“I...of course father.” She attempted to give him a reassuring smile. His frown told her that she wasn’t convincing.

“Then what did I just say?” He narrowed his glacier-toned eyes, cold and calculating, at her. 

“Uhm…” She hesitated. Caught out all too soon.

“Hm. I thought not. I’ll keep it simple for you shall I? I have begun searching for your future husband, there are many suitable candidates to take on the Schnee name and continue the line. There will be no argument in this. Am I understood?”

_ Marriage!? _ “Father I hardly think that’s necessary…” She tried to argue. Marriage was something she had hoped not to think about for at least a few more years. She was grateful that Atlesian law gave her a few more months before he could force it upon her, but she had always thought it would be too early to even begin looking for a husband. Today it seemed her father was full of surprises and, considering the already eventful day, it was a more unwelcome surprise than the others. She was left with little doubt that this was a last-ditch effort to keep her tied down, to control her future and secure that of the company. No doubt the suitor would be every-bit the heartless bigot that he was, if not more so.

“Well, I do Weiss. And as you seem unable to understand the necessity, you will have less of a choice as I was willing to give you.”

That was so unfair.

Weiss looked at him incredulously, her eyes pleading with him not to do this. But she was met with indifference in his eyes. She had half a mind to argue more with him out it then and there but before she could open her mouth, she realised that to argue about it, to fight him on it, would be to relinquish whatever control she had left in it. He was a cruel, manipulative man. Either she bowed down to his wishes, and he got his way, or she argued and he would forcible wretch the freedoms she did have from her grasp, also giving him what he wanted.

She had never felt hate so clearly in her life.

She did her best to control her biting tone as she responded. “Fine.” She left out a small huff and leaned back into her seat, angry and frustrated. But she definitely did not miss the prideful smirk that he wore as she let him win this battle of wills. He was arrogant to think that he would get away with this.

“Good.”

He had won the battle.

But she had to win this war.

Blake looked over the rail of the boat. She was nervous and sad. Before leaving the Docks she had seen the headlines in the news broadcasts that were still up. So many had died at Beacon, so many that she had known or fought beside. And with White Fang involvement, treatment of the Faunus in Vale was starting to regress. Even if in the slightest of ways. She could see how weary people were when serving the Faunus in shops or passing them in the streets. She could feel the stillness while she was in Vale, as both peoples waited with bated breath to see who would cast the first stone after the events of Beacons.

Who would be first to blame the other publically? 

And then, of course, she felt  _ guilty _ , so very guilty about leaving Yang and Ruby behind. No doubt they would need her more than ever but she knew that if she remained Adam was bound to turn up sooner or later. He had made a promise after all, and she knew what he was like about his promises and keeping them. To stay near Ruby and Yang, especially while Yang was in such a vulnerable state, was putting them both, and their father into too much risk. She knew Adam, and if he thought that she remained in Vale then there was no doubt that he would attempt to hunt her down simply to make her watch as he burned her whole world to the ground.

She couldn’t even bear the thought of him doing that.

She had to stop him, and the rest of the White Fang, before his campaign against her and their campaign against humanity destroyed the Faunusand the progress they had made toward equal rights, fully, forever. She knew that her best bet to end the threat he posed was to see her family, to see her  _ Father  _ most importantly of all, about it. The White Fang, Adam, had gone too far this time, hurting the people and the place she cared about. Ruby, Weiss, Yang, they were all going to feel the effects of this attack for a long time. They didn’t need her safety to worry about on top of that. She left so that Ruby and Yang had a chance to recover. 

She left for them.

Ruby sat on her bed, looking out at the cloud-marred skies that hid the happiness of the blue it usually was. It wasn’t raining yet, but chances are it would begin to do so soon enough. Fitting, considering how she felt. Happiness was something that eluded her for the moment after the tragedy she had felt to her very core at Beacon. After everything that had happened there. It had already been over a week past, and she had barely left her room other than to take care of necessities and even that was only when it was desperately needed. She couldn’t bring herself to do much more than that. Not right now. And considering that she hadn’t seen Yang since waking up, she guessed that her sister was in the same position as her.

Heartbroken, dejected, dead inside.

Ruby had seen one friend ripped to pieces and another shot in the chest. And she couldn’t stop seeing their faces in her mind’s eye whenever she wasn’t pushing her thoughts elsewhere and sometimes even that wasn’t enough to get respite from it all. Her friends were dead and so many more at Beacon. On top of that two of her teammates weren’t here. One was on her way home to a family and an environment that Ruby really didn’t think was the best place for her and the other had gone AWOL for whatever reason at which Ruby could only guess. She needed her team, Yang needed their team. She was willing to bet that Weiss and Blake, at least in their own ways, needed their team as well. They had been through so much in the past year, and after all that had happened none of them should be alone, not right now.

She hoped that their separation wouldn’t last long, she was the optimist of the team as well as its leader after all. But the realist inside of her told her that chances for the team to reunite were slim, and a long ways off if at all. By this point, Blake was likely somewhere outside of Vale, and Weiss would definitely be back in Atlas with her Jacqu-ass of a father. And Remnant was a big world out there, Ruby wasn’t so naive that she didn’t see or understand that. 

She glanced to her door. It was true, none of them should be alone right now. And while she couldn’t be there for Weiss and Blake, she  _ could _ be there for Yang. Given everything that had happened, Yang would benefit by having someone rather than no-one right now. So, slowly, she pushed herself out of the warm, comforting embrace of her bedsheets and forced herself to get out of bed. As soon as her leg were out of the cover, the cold air hit. It was almost enough to back her climb back in and forget the attempt altogether.

But then she saw Yang lying on the ground at Beacon, missing her arm and Blake curled up in pain beside her. And she knew that she couldn’t just let it go. She couldn’t let a bit of cold air stop her from at least trying to help her sister.

So she dared up put a foot on the cold wooden floor, then the other, and pushed herself up to stand despite her body’s protests. She took one step toward the doop, then another. And another. One foot after the other until she made her way out of her room and to Yang’s door. She knocked gently but firmly on the door, hoping Yang would answer. And for a few moments, she thought her teammate would.

But then, she heard nothing. 

“Yang?” She asked.

There was a muffled response from inside. “Go away, Ruby.”

“Yang, can I come?” She pushed gently.

“Ruby…”

“Please?”

There was another moment of silence before there was a resigned huff from beyond the door. But she waited for the invitation, not wanting to barge in without making sure she was absolutely allowed to. Yang was  _ not _ happy the last time her privacy was invaded. The memory  _ almost _ made her laugh as she recalled Weiss not realising the Bathroom was in use, the subsequent screaming and Yang proceeding to chase the Heiress out of the room and down the hall ion nothing but a towel.

She sure was going to miss those times. 

“Fine.” Eventually came muffled through the door.

Ruby slowly opened said door to find Yang looking longingly out of the window at the gathering clouds. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, the chill in the air getting to her to a little bit. The younger girl moved around the bed to sit next to her sister, settling herself down. She rested her head against Yang’s shoulder gently. Neither said anything for the moment, but they didn’t really need to. Just being in the same room was enough to settle them both down a bit. But all good things must come to end. 

“After everything...I can’t figure out why she would just...run away from us.” Yang broke the silence first. “Weiss...Weiss didn’t have a choice but...Blake…”

“I know Yang.” Ruby lifted her head a little to look at Yang sadly. “I have no idea why she left either, I don’t know what she saw.”

“You think with...what happened when I went to find her…?”

“I think she has her reasons,” Ruby stated quietly.

“What could possibly be a good reason for...just leaving us?” Ruby felt Yang clench her remaining hand. Anger, frustration, hurt, or all three. She couldn’t pinpoint the reason why, but she knew that her guesses wouldn’t be far off. Yang was an emotional person, and when she felt something she often felt it deeply.

“I don’t know Yang. I wish I did. But what might not be an important reason for you, might be a really important reason for her.” Ruby answered. Yang grew silent for a few moments.

“When did you get so wise?” She nudged Ruby gently.

“I learned it from my sister, kinda.” She gave Yang a smile.

“Kinda?” Yang raised an eyebrow and looked at her. She wasn’t smiling, but she looked a little bit more at ease now that the ice had been broken a little bit. 

“I learned it from books mostly.”

“You and your books Rubes…” Yang sighed. “So what now?”

Ruby looked down at her suddenly very interesting hands for a few moments. It was a good question. What _ was _ next? They were down half a team, and she doubted Yang was in the best place mentally to leave Patch for the time being. Or even physically. Yang would need to get used to losing half of her fighting ability. And they were sure to run into Grimm wherever they went. Ruby hated to think that her sister couldn’t handle it, but in Remnant, in this world, her team’s safety had to come first, and none of them would be safe while Cinder was around. 

If what she had been told was true, then the lack of another body on the tower meant that Cinder was still alive. Which in turn meant that she was still a threat to everyone she cared about. To Yang. To Blake. To Weiss. 

And that was something she couldn’t allow.

Ruby looked back at the house she grew up in, as it stood against the rain that battered it unrelentingly, waging a war that it could never win. The skies were dark from the clouds, shrouding the area in a dreary gloom. At least the rain hid her tears as she turned away from what was once a safe haven. She could feel Yang’s eyes on her as she looked to team JNR and gave them a small, forced smile. It was a sad feeling to know that Pyrrha wasn’t with them, not now or ever again.

It was  _ Pyrrha  _ that should be here now. Not Ruby.

Cinder should have killed Ruby when she had the chance.

Jaune held out his arm as she walked to them, pulling her hood forward a bit to cover herself from the cold rain. She felt him part her back while Nora wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, in solidarity and comfort. Ren offered her a small bow of his head.

Together they would find out what Cinder was up to.

Together, they would avenge Pyrrha. 

Together they would put an end to whatever Cinder was planning.

They would keep the others safe.

Yang watched from the window as Ruby left with the remaining members of Team JNR. She wouldn’t lie to herself. It hurt to see Ruby going off without her. She wasn’t useless. But she knew enough to know that Ruby didn’t want to leave her behind either, that Ruby was just looking out for her. Ruby had made sure that, While they were at least on Sanus, she could contact Ruby. But Yang was worried about when they left Sanus. Communication was patchy at best if you could get through to the other towers, at worse it was impossible. 

And with the rise in Grimm activity, who was to say that letters would get through either? Boats were attacked more often than not, and on the roads weren’t much better. With the fearful fallout from Beacon, people were worried and scared. And fear brought the Grimm. It became a circle. The fear brought the Grimm and more Grimm attacks meant more fear on the roads and seas, bringing yet more of the soulless monsters that terrorised their world. 

What could she do against the Grimm? She was done an arm and a weapon. Half of Ember Celica wouldn’t do much, not in her state. Perhaps it was for the best that she stayed behind. She didn’t want to become a liability for the four.

But Ruby could have  _ waited _ right? Ruby didn’t have to leave so quickly with such a short cut explanation of protecting people. She still didn’t know what Ruby had seen on top of that tower. None of them did. Qrow didn’t have much of an idea either. The most she knew was that Ruby had gone up there, a white light had enveloped the top of the tower and suddenly the Grimm was frozen in place.

She  _ hated _ not knowing.

_ Something  _ had changed on top of that tower. It was enough to get Ruby to leave home so soon, against the wishes of Tai and Qrow. It was enough that Ruby was willing to leave  _ her _ . 

And when she was ready, she was going to find out.

***

_ 18 Years Later _

Ruby looked across the river as she walked over the bridge, cloak fluttering in the wind as she moved forever forward. She tugged her cloak around her as it began to rain. Thunder rolling forth from the west. It would be a bad storm tonight. But regardless, she was almost at her destination anyway, and she would definitely be able to seek shelter there. Besides, it was only her. And if her target was amenable to it, it would be more than her by the time morning came. If not, then her entire quest was off to a bad start.

Of course, it hadn’t started out as just her. Jaune, Nora and Ren had been more than willing to join her in her mission to stop Cinder’s plans. But time had gone on, as time always does for those when time is needed the most. Ren and Nora had left first, after several months on the road travelling around Anima and Sanus. They had heard of the Orphans that had been left by the attack on Beacon and Nora couldn’t stand letting them go without protection. Ruby had understood, she really had. Nora and Ren hadn’t told her much about how they were raised before that point but they explained after the Nuckelavee incident in Kuroyuri. The point at which they had decided to depart, truly that is. 

So when they had reached Mistral, Team RNJR said its goodbyes. Ren and Nora had headed to the airpads to get transport back to Vale. She and Jaune had headed to Haven Academy just in time to find Cinder bringing the place down with the White Fang she had roped in to help. The fight between her and Cinder had been brutal, and without backup Jaune had been limited in the help he was able to give as he fought against her companions. He’d held out quite well against them in his defence, but he was nowhere near the skill level of other huntsmen of his age. Pyrrha’s training could only take him so far. Neither of them had gotten out unscathed, though Jaune had taken the worst of it.

By the time they’d retreated into Mistral, Haven had fallen, and it was only thanks to the Mistral Police and combat students the City hadn’t fallen to the Grimm.

By the time they had made it to Argus, Global communications were all but non-existent. The world’s kingdoms were falling one by one to Cinders rampage, but the fight at Haven wasn’t a complete loss despite its cost. Cinder, in her taunting, had revealed that she worked for a woman Salem. It had been a long and hard task to find out more. Salem was an elusive woman and all Ruby knew up until a few weeks past was that she was the Mistress of the Grimm and as old as time itself, or so the stories made it seem.

Until she had met Oscar Pine, the former Professor Ozpin. It had taken some time to wrap her head around at first, learning about Magic and more about the Grimm. To know about the Gods, the Maidens and Magic was all so mind-boggling. But it helped her to make sense of Salem’s ultimate goal in destroying the world. To divide Humanity, keep them separate. To make them fear her and her power when the time came to show herself. To wield the Relics and rule the world.

He was on his way to Atlas by now. 

While Jaune, he had stayed in Argus to protect his sister and her family after they had fled Mistral on the chance that Cinder and company would want to find them. She couldn’t blame him for that one. She understood it well really, having left Patch behind for the exact same reason. To protect the people she cared about. People she realised, she hadn’t seen in 18 long years. Depending on how this went, she might be able to see them soon enough.

But that wasn’t the main point, was it? No, Salem had taken everything from her. Her mother, slain for her eyes. Her team, torn asunder and scattered to the wind. Her school, a safe place with the best memories she had, and the worst. Penny, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren, Jaune, Yang, Weiss, Blake and so many others. For one reason or another, Salem had been responsible for their disappearance. Salem was responsible for making sure Ruby lost them. Ruby was alone right now, because of  _ Salem _ and she was going to make sure Salem paid in blood. Even if she couldn’t die, she could still be stopped. And that was enough for Ruby.

She pulled her hood up as the rain began to attack her, freezing her nose and stinging as it made contact with her skin. It made the two parallel scars that ran from her forehead to the right cheek, across her eye itch a little. They were years old, but still irritating at times. She glanced at the sign as she passed it. One post pointed to Mistal, another to a village to the south, and one had been vandalised with ‘bandits’ written (badly) over it. Just who she was looking for. She was thankful that Qrow had been with Oscar, letting her knew where she should go after her insistent asking. 

So she started walking toward Bandit territory and hoped for the best.

Weiss looked out at the snow as it fell on the Manor grounds outside the window. Her small office, filled with warm worn book covers of reds and yellows and blacks on polished brown oak shelves, overlooked the old training yard she had used before going to Beacon, and for a short time after returning. She missed it, training. She missed the feel of Myrtenaster, now sitting dutifully on a shelf behind her solid oak desk, in her hand. She missed the thrill of fighting Grimm alongside her team and most of all, she missed the freedom she’d had so long ago.

She took a mouthful of the whiskey in her glass, letting the burn of the alcohol filter down her throat quickly. She could see why her mother had chosen the bottle over everything else in her life, with their experiences being so similar. A loveless marriage, no say at all in the  _ family _ company, a husband who lived to cheat, exploit and manipulate his way through life. She was thankful that he at least had the balls to tell her he was having an affair as soon as it started after she had made it clear she would no share a bed with him at any point. Really, it was hardly her place to blame him considering her flat out refusal to let him get anywhere near her. 

He hadn’t liked her stubborn streak in that area, from the beginning. Her father wasn’t happy about it either. She still remembered the pain as a result of it. She had quickly learned to stay out of the way of the bad side of Julian Schnee, formerly Frost, her dreaded Husband of the last seventeen odd years. He was every bit the bastard her father was, if not more so. He was brash and abrasive toward her in the privacy of Schnee Manor. Already he had one son from his affair with the woman that was publically a maid in the manor. He was good at hiding things, she’d give him that. Making sure that the woman shared similar traits to herself to make sure that he could claim the child was theirs, instead of someone else’s. 

So she kept to her study, her room and herself. The only person she’d had constant contact with, except her bastard husband and dreaded father, was Klein. He was her only true friend these days, what with Whitley gone and Winter keeping away from the family. Her mother wad passed over a decade ago from liver problems thanks to her own excessive drinking habit. Weiss was less susceptible, however, thanks to her Aura.

She sighed and turned away from the window back to her office, moving to sit at her desk. It had an utterly different colour scheme to the rest of Schnee Manor, not a spot or splash of blue or white in sight. Excluding her outfit of course. It was her thing, wearing blues and whites. For now, she had settled on a white dress shirt with grey patterns of her emblem on her shoulders with a light blue silk waistcoat. Normally, outside of her study or private rooms, she wore it with a white jacket that cut off at her mid-thighs while her emblem was in grey on the back, combined with grey trousers and white heeled boots. She had long ago stopped wearing a combat skirt, considering the lack of combat she was engaged in any way.

She looked toward the fireplace which burned gently as she leant back in the chair. She took another mouthful of the whiskey, letting the warmth fill her. The fire crackled quietly as she thought. She enjoyed the taste of the whiskey a little too much. She  _ knew _ that. But it was the only way to feel warm nowadays or much of anything at all really. Sometimes when Vale or Faunus or anything relating to before the Fall or her former teammates she felt enough of something that she didn’t need as much alcohol, but given her life, she had little else.

But better her here than Whitley. She was glad that he had gotten away instead of her. He may not have been the best sibling in the world, but he was still her brother. She had to protect him from their father. Originally she had planned to leave herself, she really had. Klein had been taking her to the library when Whitley had caught them in the hall. He had looked so hurt when she told him. And despite everything she couldn’t leave him there. She knew it at that moment. So when he got out, he’d been sent straight to Winter.

And that was the second to last time she’d seen him.

Thankfully, Winter and Ironwood had turned up to her sham wedding to let her know that he was safe and all. But even then, it was so long since then. It was unfortunate that the only other time she had gotten to see her siblings were at her mothers funeral. With Whitley over 18 years, her father could do nothing to bring him back which gave Weiss a great deal of relief. It was amusing to seem him fume as the offspring who got away paraded in front of him to say good-bye to the mother while he could do nothing, lest his reputation have been severely dented.

But maybe things would have been different if she hadn’t come home at all. She knows that the Rose-Xiao Long household would have been happy to have her. Ruby probably would have been the most excited about it.

Oh, Ruby…

She grimaced a little as the memories of her former teammates hit her. Ruby with her endearing innocence and Wiley leadership skills that came out at the best of times. Blake with her intellect and empathetic nature, despite her broody dark demeanour and cold exterior. Yang with her gung-ho attitude and protective drive. She missed all of them. It certainly wasn’t the alcohol that brought the pang of longing into her chest. She missed all of them. Hell, she only admitted it to herself when Beacon had fallen just how much she had grown to care for the Dolt, the Faunus and the Brute. 

She looked at the almost empty glass. Thiry-six years old. And what a waste exactly half of her life had been.

She turned her head to look at her old friend, the rapier that had been with her through so much.

Maybe it was time to clean off the dust that had gathered atop it.

Blake looked over those gathered in the small house. Ilia, Sun, Kali and a few others of her closest advisers. So much had changed in the almost eighteen years that she had been home if she could really call it home anymore after everything. Menagerie had been fighting itself for so long since the White Fang announced that they had taken down Haven Academy and the Mistral CCT with it. Without much information, only what the White Fang had given them, they could only assume the worst. If the students and teachers had been there when the attack took place, then they had to assume that the Fang had wiped out the student and teaching bodies. 

Which means it was Beacon all over again, but worse.

And Blake refused to let it happen a third time, it didn’t matter whether the target was Vacuo or Atlas. She wouldn’t let another Huntsman Academy be destroyed because of Adam and his vendetta against innocent humans. So when she stood up, and other Faunus stood with her, Adam had jumped at the chance to fulfil his promise to her.

It had ended at the beginning of a war a month later after he had struck the killing blow on Ghira Belladonna. Her father who had only ever wanted peace for their kind. A man that had fought harder than Adam could ever understand. 

“It’s been many years since this war started.” She winced, remembering the day Adam made the mistake that would cost him so many.

_ “Dad, no!” _

“Adam’s forces are moving toward us as we speak. Everyone else has either fled or he has...executed them.” She looked everyone in the eyes, slowly turning her head.

_ “You should have come back to me Blake, while you had the chance.” _

“We’re pulling back to the south.” She sighed as they nodded.

_ “Kill them all!” _

“Ilia and Sun will create a distraction to the North so we can slip past their patrols, I’ll be taking out those patrols. Mom, you’ll need to head around the old Hall with our injured as Sky and Junior head off any attempts to intercept you with our remaining groups. We get to the south docks, we can evacuate the wounded. Mom, you’ll need to go with them.”

Kali nodded as Blake made eye contact with her. They’d been arguing for days about this plan with how unpredictable Adam was. It was the main reason they had to pull back in the first place. He’d been systematically clearing Kuo Kuana for weeks now, ever since he won the Town Centre from her insurrection. A tragic blow. Now, he was just herding them back street by street, knowing that since that victory time had been on his side.

But he would not take her home without cost. She had learned many things in many years. Running away from here wouldn’t solve the issue. She had to deal with the source of all her problems for the last nineteen odd years. He wasn’t going to be drawn out easily, but now that all the civilians had been evacuated, and the last boat of her people would leave tonight, they could wreak a lot more havoc of the Fang. A Huntsman, a Huntress and a former Fang with refined skills were more than a match for the hastily trained forces of the White Fang that were trying to force them out.

Only a few would be a real challenge for them, Adam the biggest challenge of all.

And by whatever gods that were listening he’d pay for everything. 

For a moment she remembered Yang, unconscious on the ground and missing an arm. But she shook it away. She couldn’t think about  _ her _ right now, or  _ any _ of them. She didn’t  _ want _ to think about them right now, not when there were more important things to worry about.

“Any questions?” She looked from Kali to the others, one by one. Not one of them objected to her plan, but each still looked grim. Even Sun, but then he had lost his shine many years ago. “Right then, get ready, we leave within the hour.” She gave them a final nod.

Most of them, her mother included, filtered out to leave Ilia and Sun standing and sitting respectively. Ilia had her arms crossed, back on the wall as she observed her friend. Blake felt Ilia’s eyes linger on the scars that trailed from her cheek to her throat, the three claw marks a gift from a devout feline Faunus follower of Adam’s who’d tried to rip her throat out seven years prior. She hadn’t managed it, clearly, but the signs of the attempt would always remain. Her Aura had broken after a long and gruelling fight, but it had never been as strong as Yang’s had been. If it had lasted a little longer, she might not have ended up with such a painful reminder of how much Adam wanted her dead.

“Are you...sure we should remain here Blake?” Ilia asked after several moments of silence.

“We have to. No noise from us means they’re going to start looking for boats. If either or both of you want to leave…” Blake’s ears turned to the side sadly, eyes dropping for a few seconds before she looked back up to the pair of them. “I can handle it. I’ll be fine.” She sighed.

“Blake…” Sun started. “If you stay...eventually you’ll lose. No supplies, no allies…”

“I can’t run again.” She narrowed her eyes toward him, her cat ears changing their positioning to turned back rather than to the side aggressively, her pupils constricting a little in the limited lighting. “I won’t run again.”

“It’s not running, it’s a tactical withdrawal,” Ilia argued calmly. “You don’t, hell,  _ we _ don’t have the advantage right now, we’re in enemy territory and more so every minute that passes. We have allies in Vacuo, Mistral,  _ Vale- _ ”

“- _ Ilia _ -” Blake practically snarled. But Ilia met her gaze easily, with fire.

“- **_Atlas_ ** .” She challenged, pushing herself off the wall as she stalked a few steps closer to the table as her eye narrowed. “You don’t want to run from here because it means you can’t run from there, from  _ them _ .”

“We don’t need to have this conversation,” Blake stated with a warning tone as her ears turned back and flat against her head defensively.

“Yes, we do.” 

“Sun…” Blake turned her venomous look toward him.

“Blake.” He stated resolutely. “You can’t hide from them forever.”

“I  _ abandoned _ them, Sun. So watch me try.” She shot back.

“They might surprise you, y’know. I heard  _ Weiss _ could use a friend-”

“Do  _ not _ mention  _ any  _ of their names Sun.” Blake put her hands on the table as she leaned toward him. She took a moment before pushing off the wood and standing up straight, glaring at the pair of them. “Just...go...we need to be ready.” She turned to face the map of Kuo Kuana on the wall behind her, pretending to look over it.

She heard the sound of Sun get up from the chair, followed bet two steps of quiet footfalls. But she didn’t let her shoulders drop until the door closed, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding until they’d gone, a pang of regret filling her heart.

They were only trying to look out for her. She knew that. They were only trying to get her to ask for help from her teammates despite the danger she’d be putting them in with Adam and all. But she couldn’t do that to them, besides, she doubted Ruby or Yang would be too forgiving of her disappearance so long ago. Yang especially. They had been close, closer than Blake should have let them get. She’d left out of fear. Yang wouldn’t understand. Ruby might, Ruby was so empathetic to her team. And Weiss...Weiss  _ would _ understand. Completely. But would such a stubborn person be alright with it after Blake had promised to  _ talk _ with them when something was wrong? After everything they had been through?

She couldn’t face them.

Could she?

Yang looked over the camp of rag-tag misfits and brutes as they went about their duties, either cleaning things or moving things, or being in the very least  _ useful _ to their small operation in Southern Anima. With the clouded skies though, she knew that many of them would attempt the shirk their duties when the rain started in favour of getting inside the mess tent for a pint of ill-gotten alcohol and stew of meat or vegetables (or both, in most cases) stolen from a nameless farm or several farms.

But when she becomes the leader of the Clan, they won’t even  _ dare _ think about it. She’d learned many things from her former teammates, one of which was efficiency. Not from Ruby, but Weiss had certainly rubbed off on her during that year. And now...now they were gone. Or at least, not here. Ironic that she actually missed Weiss the most out of the three of them, the only one who didn’t willingly abandon the team they had built, yet couldn’t stand her when they had first met. She missed Ruby too, and...maybe Blake. A little bit.

But they had both gone willingly. Ruby with JNR, and Blake to wherever she had run off to. She hadn’t seen or heard from any of them since the Team had split. At first, it was upsetting but now, she was somewhat glad that she didn’t have to think about them, or their safety or whatever strategy and reckless idea Ruby would come up with to defeat a Grimm. Not that she minded those strategies, they’d served the team well at Beacon.

But that wasn’t the point.

She clenched her right, metal, arm for a moment as she fought off the impending memories that threatened her walls. She looked down a moment at her arm. Another reason why she was okay with missing one of her teammates. Apparently, Weiss had been insistent with Ironwood on getting a new arm made and sent to her. She didn’t know if it was true exactly, but she hoped dearly that it was. It was Weiss’ style, a grand gesture when something had gone horribly wrong. Like the time she burnt an entire batch of probably forty-odd cookies, trying to make them for Ruby after knocking the packet from their window to the muddy grass below.

She let out a small chuckle to herself. Nothing that anyone would overhear.

“Yang.” 

Apart from her.

A soft hand placed itself on her left shoulder. Or rather, tried to. There’s wasn’t much space with the leather shoulder padding and she was taller than the woman who now stood beside her. She brushed off her long, off-coloured cream jacket to look at her mother, and offer a small smile to her in greeting. 

It had been weird at first, staying with her mother after she’d found out Qrow had lost track of Ruby and the others. But Raven was curiously more than okay with letting her stick around after she returned in a dejected manner. There was no point in trying to search all of Anima for Ruby, and even if she were to search, the chances of finding her were almost nought if they were both moving around. Yang wasn’t usually logical, but she knew when it was and wasn’t worth the goal. 

So she had stayed, rustled up a new outfit when she found that her old just wasn’t cutting it anymore as she decided to pull her own weight in the clan.

She had been incredibly reluctant at first. Curiously, Raven had let her take her time, even letting her make it clear that she wasn’t the same  _ kind _ of bandit the others were. She may have decided to become an outlaw after losing all of her friends, but that didn’t mean she was going to lose her morals along with them. Raven might not have been the best mother before, hell, she still wasn’t in most respects, but the weird common ground they’d reached had somehow worked out in both their favours. Yang had gotten the distraction from her horrible life that she had needed, and Raven’s clan were able to keep away from authorities and have a good surplus of loot as time passed on. 

Vernal was annoying in many ways, but she guessed that she couldn’t have everything. At least, not yet she couldn’t.

“Mom.”

“There’s a disturbance to the east, I need you to go have a look.” Raven lowered her arm. “No back up.”

“Sure Mom. You want me to leave now.”

“Yes, now. Vernal and I will keep an eye on the clan while you’re out.” She reassured. 

“Alright…” She frowned and crossed her arms. “Anything else you need?”

“No, that’s it. Good Luck Yang.” She attempted another awkward shoulder pat before turning and walking off dismissively. But Yang knew that it was, in her own way, Raven at least attempting to give her some motherly support. 

As the rain begins to pour down, she sighed again. It was going to be a wet ride down the eastern roads, so the sooner she got this done the sooner she could get back to her tent and her bed, and maybe in the morning, she would head out to the nearby village for a drink and girl for the evening if the weather wasn’t going to be so miserable.

She turned to her left a bit and headed toward the gate. She could feel the gazes of the other bandits on her back, wondering why she was heading out in such weather most likely. But none of them dared to approach and ask, instead choosing to scurry about their assigned tasks after a few moments of wonder. She didn’t understand why they looked at her so. She was Raven’s daughter, and that was it. It wasn’t like she got any special treatment or anything. Quite the opposite really. Raven was quick off the mark to criticise her or berate her for something that had gone wrong on her watch. 

Maybe it was because, soon enough, someone was going to have to take over the Clan from Raven.

And no-one had the balls to challenge her on it. Or Vernal for that matter.

That was going to be an interesting day.

She pulled the covers off bumblebee, which rested with the rest of the vehicles next to the gate. But unlike said other vehicles, no-one else dared to touch what was hers. The rain was quick to try and wet the seat. But she never beat around the bush when going for a ride. As soon as the cover was on the ground she was turning the engine on, grateful to feel the purr of her girl as she pushed off, the gate already opening for her to leave. 

She was on the road quickly enough, heading east as her mother had said. 

Over the roar of the engine, she could make out the sound of gunfire, and a weapon transforming.

Her blood turned cold as ice.

There was only one weapon she knew that made a transformation that sounded quite like that and only one that was followed by that familiar cry of exertion. 

It still didn’t stop her surprise when she saw red.


End file.
